Written Answers

Friday 8 September 2000

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulance workers left the service on grounds of ill health in each year from 1995 to the present time and what percentage of the ambulance workforce these represented in each year.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is not currently collected centrally. My officials have however obtained the information from the Scottish Ambulance Service and it is set out below. Occupational health and safety Minimum Datasets are currently in preparation for issue shortly to the service and these will include a requirement for information on staff who leave on health grounds to be collected. An element in the occupational health and safety service strategy is a requirement for NHSiS organisations to develop policies to give security of employment, where this is possible, including redeployment, as a consequence of disability or ill-health. Adoption of such policies will secure the continued employment and retention of experienced officers in the service in useful employment.

  


Year 


Number 


Percentage 




1995-96 


47 


1.78% 




1996-97 


41 


1.4% 




1997-98 


24 


0.8% 




1998-99 


32 


1.0% 




1999-2000 


27 


0.9%

Arts

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any proposals to establish a community arts centre in Fort William.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Arts Council (SAC) received an application from the Old School Project in April 2000 for funding towards the costs of a study to examine the viability of providing an arts venue in Lochaber. The application looked particularly at the Old School in Fort William.

  The SAC Capital Committee considered the application at its meeting on 11 July and took the decision to reject it.

Cancer

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the minimum and maximum waiting times are for radiotherapy for lung cancer in each of the five cancer centres once a positive diagnosis has been made.

Susan Deacon: Information is not available centrally in the form requested.

  Cancer centres give high priority to starting treatment as soon as possible after clinical decisions on treatment options have been made. At present, waiting times for radiotherapy for all cancers – the time between treatment being agreed and starting – is in the range of one to eight weeks.

  The Scottish Executive is providing additional funding to support the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, including funding specifically for radiotherapy equipment. I recently announced a rolling modernisation programme which will provide new linear accelerators and treatment planning simulators in all cancer centres, new and replacement MRI scanners, and imaging equipment to help further speed up diagnosis.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is between diagnosis and treatment in all Scottish cancer treatment units, listed for each type of cancer.

Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of the three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. Reducing waiting times for investigation and treatment is a high priority within the Scottish Cancer Group’s work programme.

  Initial investigation and treatment for cancer can take place in either an outpatient or inpatient setting. Information on waiting times for cases where investigation and treatment starts in an outpatient setting is not held centrally.

  Information on the time from a patient being placed on the waiting list for inpatient/day case treatment for a primary diagnosis of cancer and their admission to hospital is available centrally. The median waiting times for the four main cancers and all other cancers in the year ending 31 March 2000 in the five main cancer centres and in all other hospitals is given in the table. It should be noted that many patients will receive immediate inpatient/day case treatment and will not appear on the waiting list.

  The Scottish Executive is providing additional funding to support the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. I recently announced a rolling modernisation programme which will provide new linear accelerators and treatment planning simulators in all cancer centres, new and replacement MRI scanners and imaging equipment to help further speed up diagnosis.

  NHS In Scotland: Median Waiting Time for Hospital Admission for Inpatient/Day Case Treatment for Primary Diagnoses of the Main Four Cancers and all other Cancers: 31 March 2000P

  


Hospital of Treatment 


Colorectal Cancer 


Lung Cancer 


Breast Cancer 


Ovarian Cancer 


All Other Cancers 




Median Wait
(Days) 


Median Wait
(Days) 


Median Wait
(Days) 


Median Wait
(Days) 


Median Wait
(Days) 




Aberdeen Royal Infirmary 


7 


6 


7 


18 


10 




Ninewells Hospital 


20 


10 


18 


14 


23 




Raigmore Hospital 


10 


3 


13 


8 


10 




Western General Hospital 


13 


7 


17 


16 


19 




Western Infirmary, Glasgow 


3 


6 


3 


3 


8 




Other Hospitals 


10 


7 


8 


7 


14 




Scotland 


8 


7 


8 


8 


13 




  Source: ISD Scotland (SMRO1).

  P Provisional

  Notes: Diagnoses are recorded using the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10). Cancers are defined as malignant neoplasms and the following codes were used for the cancers presented in the table:

  Colorectal Cancer: ICD10 C18-C20

  Lung Cancer: ICD10 C33-C34

  Breast Cancer ICD10 C50 (females only)

  Ovarian Cancer: ICD10 C56

  All Other Cancers: other ICD10 codes in range C00-C97

  SMR01 records up to six ICD10 diagnostic codes in each discharge record. The table is based on an analysis of the primary diagnostic field only.

  Includes Scottish residents only.

Doctors

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether doctors who are struck off the register by the General Medical Council can continue to practice in the private sector in Scotland.

Susan Deacon: No. A doctor may not practise anywhere in the UK, either in the NHS or the private sector if the General Medical Council has withdrawn his or her registration.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what are any adverse health effects of using methadone on a long-term basis.

Iain Gray: The long-term toxic effects of methadone are few when taken correctly at the prescribed dose.

  Oral methadone solutions may exacerbate erosion of teeth, may cause constipation and some patients may show increased weight gain.

  Most adverse effects are caused by inappropriate dosage levels or mixing methadone with alcohol and other drugs, or accidental overdosage.

Elderly People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was spent in 1999-2000 in supporting older people in (a) residential and nursing homes and (b) their own homes, broken down as follows by source of funding; (i) NHS, (ii) local authority social services budgets and (iii) local authority housing budgets.

Iain Gray: The provisional outturn expenditure of local authority social work budgets in 1999-2000 in supporting older people in residential and nursing homes was £239.6 million and in other settings was £186.2 million. In addition, the NHS is estimated to have transferred £42.6 million to local authorities to spend on the care of older people. Information on the expenditure by the NHS and from local authority housing budgets in the categories requested is not available centrally.

Enterprise

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what output was in each of the last five years for which figures are available in each of the textile, footwear, leather and clothing manufacturing sectors.

Henry McLeish: Data on the gross output of manufacturing businesses in Scotland are available from the Scottish Production Database for the five years to 1997 as follows:

  

 

Gross output (£ million) 




1993 


1994 


1995 


1996 


1997 




Textiles 


913 


958 


920 


1027 


979 




Clothing 


714 


774 


874 


967 


857 




Leather and Footwear 


120 


95 


126 


110 


137

Fuel

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the bulk buying of liquid petroleum gas.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive already uses a contract for motor vehicle fuels, including liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which ensures that fuel is bought at competitive prices. This contract was arranged as a result of collaboration with UK Government Departments.

Further Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to tackle the condition of the property estate of further education colleges.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is committed to modernising the further education college estate, to fit it for the needs of the future. An additional £37 million is being invested in college infrastructure in the three financial years 1999-2000 to 2001-02. Decisions on resources for future years will be taken in the context of the current Spending Review.

Genetically Modified Crops

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out into the possibility, extent and implications of GM contamination of pollen, honey-dew and honey, who conducted any such research and whether it will publish any such research.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive takes independent advice on any possible GM contamination of pollen, honey dew and honey from such bodies as the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment whose membership includes an acknowledged expert on Apis mellifera, the Food Standards Agency, and the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, which in turn have access to all published research in this area. The recent review by the National Institute for Agricultural Botany (NIAB) on separation distances will further inform debate. Advice to Government from these bodies, including consideration of new research, is published.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many orthoptists are employed by each health board and how many this represents per 100,000 population.

Susan Deacon: The latest available information is shown in the table below.

  Orthoptists employed in the NHS in Scotland by Health Board

  Headcount and Whole Time Equivalent: at 30 September 1999P

  

 

Number 


Number per
100,000
population1




Scotland 


95 


1.9 




Ayrshire & Arran 


9 


2.4 




Borders 


3 


2.8 




Argyll & Clyde 


7 


1.6 




Fife 


5 


1.4 




Greater Glasgow 


23 


2.5 




Highland 


4 


1.9 




Lanarkshire 


10 


1.8 




Grampian 


8 


1.5 




Orkney 


- 


- 




Lothian 


7 


0.9 




Tayside 


9 


2.3 




Forth Valley 


5 


1.8 




Western Isles 


- 


- 




Dumfries & Galloway 


5 


3.4 




Shetland 


- 


- 




  Source: National Manpower Statistics from payroll. Registrar General for Scotland. ISD Scotland

  p Provisional.

  Notes:

  1. Rate calculated using 1998 population figures. Population data are mid-year estimates at 30 June.

Health

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations have been made by staff and trade unions with regard to the proposal to introduce parking charges at Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust sites in Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline.

Susan Deacon: Consultation on their proposals for car parking charges is entirely a matter for the Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. In reaching decisions on proposals to charge for car parking we would expect that NHS Trusts have the interests of patients, staff and visitors at heart and that they take all views expressed fully into account before reaching a final decision.

Health

Kate MacLean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what further measures it intends to take, in addition to the implementation of the task force recommendations, to ensure efficient running of Tayside Health Board, Tayside University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Tayside Primary Care NHS Trust.

Susan Deacon: The Executive has strengthened local leadership, is taking forward the task force recommendations and is considering the Trust financial recovery plan.

Historic Scotland

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed by Historic Scotland in each of the last five years and what is the projection of the number of employees in each of the next five years.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  The number of staff in post (full-time equivalent) in Historic Scotland in each of the last five years was:

  


1995-96 


626 




1996-97 


669 




1997-98 


709 




1998-99 


760 




1999-2000 


789 




  Future staffing needs will be determined as part of Historic Scotland’s business planning process.

Historic Sites

Mr Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list by (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency all sites of historic battles maintained by it, its agencies or other Scottish public bodies and whether there are any plans to add new sites to this list.

Rhona Brankin: There is no central list of battlefield sites. Historic Scotland is currently giving consideration to drawing up a register although there is a lack of evidence to identify the precise location of many battlefields and few physical remains survive.

  Substantial parts of the sites of the following historic battles lie on land owned by the National Trust for Scotland:

  


Historic Battle 


Local Authority Area 


Parliamentary Constituency 




Bannockburn (1314) 


Stirling 


Stirling 




Killiecrankie (1689) 


Perth and Kinross 


North Tayside 




Glenshiel (1719) 


Highland 


Ross, Skye and Inverness West 




Culloden (1746) 


Highland 


Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber 




  Historic Scotland has in its care the mediaeval Stirling Bridge, the successor to the earlier bridge where the battle of that name took place in 1297. It is located in the local authority area and parliamentary constituency of Stirling.

  In addition, the site of the Massacre of Glencoe of 1692 lies on land owned by the National Trust for Scotland. This lies within the local authority area of Argyll and Bute and the parliamentary constituency of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber.

Housing

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what appointments have been made so far to the Glasgow Housing Association, on what date these appointments start and which of these appointments were secondments, specifying in each case which organisation the person was seconded from.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The appointment of staff to the Glasgow Housing Association is a matter for that organisation. Any enquiries relating to the staffing of the Glasgow Housing Association should be directed to its Chief Executive.

Influenza

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6945 by Susan Deacon on 22 June 2000, whether it has any plans to collect centrally information on the number of flu vaccines administered.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is currently considering improvements to the arrangements for the collection of information on the number of flu vaccines administered. This is one of a number of issues being considered by the Winter Performance Group and in discussions with representatives of the medical profession in the context of our wider programme of work to organise and prepare for winter.

Justice

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended length of time is that it should take for a Fatal Accident Inquiry to be heard from the time of the decision to hold one.

Neil Davidson: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have an internal target of holding 95% of discretionary Fatal Accident Inquiries within 12 weeks of receipt of Crown Counsel’s instructions. In relation to mandatory Fatal Accident Inquiries, the target is to hold 95% of these within 24 weeks from the date the death is reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

Justice

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Fatal Accident Inquiries were completed in 1999 and what the length of time was for each hearing (a) to be heard from the time of the decision to hold one and (b) to be completed from the time of the decision to hold one.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Fatal Accident Inquiries are outstanding when decisions to hold them have been made (a) awaiting for the hearing to be held and (b) awaiting for the hearing to be completed.

Neil Davidson: The information requested is not currently available.

NHS Expenditure

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all current spending commitments under the Innovation Fund for children’s health services announced in November 1998.

Susan Deacon: Details of the current spending commitments by health board under the Innovation Fund for Children’s Services are shown in the following table:

  


Health Board 


1999-2000 


2000-01 


2001-02 




Argyll and Clyde 


£161,151 


£154,001 


£138,001 




Ayrshire and Arran 


£33,640 


£74,615 


£70,740 




Borders 


£75,905 


£85,930 


£85,930 




Dumfries and Galloway 


£80,000 


£140,000 


£80,000 




Fife 


£39,500 


£104,360 


£106,160 




Forth Valley 


£60,000 


£279,985 


£230,485 




Grampian 


£42,411 


£108,291 


£91,591 




Greater Glasgow 


£291,250 


£478,018 


£481,167 




Highland 


£0 


£103,032 


£130,438 




Lanarkshire 


£54,500 


£229,044 


£231,044 




Lothian 


£161,055 


£408,181 


£289,597 




Orkney 


£0 


£0 


£0 




Shetland 


£28,500 


£75,900 


£68,647 




Tayside 


£228,076 


£275,190 


£245,190 




Western Isles 


£52,500 


£138,620 


£116,973 




National Project 


£66,132 


£102,758 


£106,002 




Total 


£1,374,620 


£2,757,925 


£2,471,965

NHS Funding

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the NHS capital allocations and actual expenditure were for each health board in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Susan Deacon: The following table sets out the capital allocations and expenditure for each health board area for the period 1997-98 to 1999-2000:

  


Health Boards 


1997-98
Allocation
£000 


1997-98
Expenditure
£000 


1998-99
Allocation
£000 


1998-99
Expenditure
£000 


1999-2000
Allocation
£000 


1999-2000 Provisional
Expenditure*
£000 




Argyll & Clyde 


7,167 


5,404 


6,200 


5,043 


3,750 


3,500 




Ayr & Arran 


8,347 


7,798 


7,335 


6,005 


3,411 


2,181 




Borders 


2,172 


282 


4,352 


1,303 


5,943 


4,119 




Dumfries & Galloway 


3,889 


2,379 


1,969



1,221 


2,423 


1,183 




Fife 


4,332 


3,207 


3,266 


2,478 


5,837 


2,687 




Forth Valley 


3,856 


2,267 


4,951 


3,821 


6,178 


4,065 




Grampian 


10,060 


7,698 


12,343 


10,910 


8,167 


6,526 




Greater Glasgow 


34,901 


27,759 


27,535 


23,876 


45,341 


38,918 




Highland 


7,212 


6,357 


5,726 


4,644 


5,371 


3,704 




Lanarkshire 


9,826 


7,060 


19,960 


16,515 


10,525 


6,937 




Lothian 


30,278 


19,759 


33,616 


22,882 


39,173 


27,301 




Orkney 


758 


758 


1,353 


1,353 


2,474 


2,474 




Shetland 


2,662 


2,662 


1,052 


1,052 


2,279 


2,279 




Tayside 


31,974 


25,081 


16,774 


8,059 


6,665 


984 




Western Isles 


1,132 


1,132 


972 


972 


3,345 


3,345 




TOTAL 


158,566 


119,603 


147,404 


110,134 


150,882 


110,203 




  * The 1999-2000 figures are unaudited.

  Capital to revenue transfers amounting to £39.0 million, £37.3 million and £40.7 million in 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 respectively were made to enable health boards and NHS Trusts to meet the costs of minor projects and non-added value elements of capital schemes.

  From 2000-01 onwards, all capital funds must be spent on capital items.

NHS Waiting Times

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any proposals relating to the waiting times of seven months for ear, nose and throat outpatient appointments and 13 weeks for routine CT scans in the Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust and in particular whether additional resources will be directed to shorten these waiting times.

Susan Deacon: I understand from Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust that there are unacceptably high waiting times for ENT outpatient appointments. These are attributable to a consultant vacancy, and to other staffing changes, which are being addressed urgently.

  As a result of recent initiatives by the Trust, the average waiting time for CT scans at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh now stands at four weeks, a reduction of nine weeks. The Scottish Executive is funding the NHS in Scotland at higher levels than ever before (£5.4 billion this year). Recurring funding of £44.5 million per annum has been allocated to the NHS in Scotland since 1998-99 to reduce waiting times and lists. In addition, a further £60 million was allocated to health boards in June to address specific priorities, including waiting times. The Executive is clear, however, that sustained improvements in waiting times can only be achieved by both investment and reform. That is why our work on the modernisation of the NHS in Scotland places particular emphasis on the redesign of services and the provision of innovative patient centred services, such as one-stop clinics.

National Lottery Awards

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of National Lottery grants awarded in Scotland are given to organisations in Fife, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Rhona Brankin: According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s National Lottery Awards database, the proportion of National Lottery grants in Scotland given to organisations in Fife, broken down by parliamentary constituency, is shown in the table below:

  


Central Fife 


0.3% 




Dunfermline East 


0.46% 




Dunfermline West 


0.28% 




Kirkcaldy 


0.45% 




North East Fife 


1.21% 




Total 


2.7%

National Lottery Awards

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4663 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 31 May 2000, how much money has been awarded by National Lottery distributing bodies annually since its inception prior to 1999, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Rhona Brankin: According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s National Lottery Awards database, the amounts awarded in Scotland by the National Lottery distributing bodies annually from its inception are shown in the table below, broken down by parliamentary constituency:

  


Constituency 


£ 




1995 


1996 


1997 


1998 


1999 


Grand Total 




Aberdeen Central 


703,390 


2,131,088 


1,041,625 


960,959 


702,290 


5,539,352 




Aberdeen North 


299,750 


261,644 


696,720 


29,602 


2,765,374 


4,053,090 




Aberdeen South 


13,900 


1,025,679 


741,713 


99,279 


35,105 


1,915,676 




Airdrie & Shotts 


14,600 


367,987 


79,373 


724,008 


452,077 


1,638,045 




Angus 


108,715 


536,289 


55,051 


571,830 


1,072,145 


2,344,030 




Argyll & Bute 


1,690,023 


1,341,566 


1,436,325 


615,490 


1,844,954 


6,928,358 




Ayr 


604,532 


1,250,033 


353,472 


483,087 


1,124,609 


3,815,733 




Banff & Buchan 


173,738 


469,030 


155,317 


398,348 


380,327 


1,576,760 




Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross 


462,774 


1,667,093 


650,513 


1,284,536 


1,514,195 


5,579,111 




Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley 


392,158 


549,989 


152,741 


1,984,989 


354,848 


3,434,725 




Central Fife 


45,314 


1,840,570 


30,831 


148,206 


120,018 


2,184,939 




Clyde & Milngavie 


140,800 


855,448 


32,254 


136,863 


291,902 


1,457,267 




Clydesdale 


785,160 


2,581,235 


799,630 


706,086 


3,508,028 


8,380,139 




Coatbridge & Chryston 


7,230 


667,528 


364,548 


309,123 


220,621 


1,569,050 




Cumbernauld & Kilsyth 


604,543 


77,900 


174,953 


744935 


635,737 


2,238,068 




Cunninghame North 


777,120 


682,310 


250,261 


1,199,134 


777,715 


3,686,540 




Cunninghame South 


33,690 


5,660,781 


111,248 


98,942 


1,157,707 


7,062,368 




Dumbarton 


159,125 


864,459 


562,247 


2,553,323 


838,587 


4,977,741 




Dumfries 


503,710 


1,483,783 


773,766 


2,500,339 


1,066,273 


6,327,871 




Dundee East 


1,720,086 


243,711 


543,777 


15,811 


337,125 


2,860,510 




Dundee West 


1,053,080 


6,360,614 


5,679,239 


6,227,264 


1,265,905 


20,586,102 




Dunfermline East 


724,350 


544,648 


125,402 


219,332 


1,713,979 


3,327,711 




Dunfermline West 


39,822 


214,027 


620,691 


660,170 


514,894 


2,049,604 




East Kilbride 


357,763 


190,044 


4,694,776 


303,649 


122,679 


5,668,911 




East Lothian 


107,000 


246,737 


121,135 


1,005,824 


2,625,797 


4,106,493 




Eastwood 


64,238 


228,418 


1,322,340 


339,258 


531,887 


2,486,141 




Edinburgh Central 


14,789,114 


29,029,848 


8,317,583 


10,274,106 


147,24,384 


77,135,035 




Edinburgh East & Musselburgh 


2,800,323 


9,756,451 


1,515,783 


1,268,102 


2,289,189 


17,629,848 




Edinburgh North & Leith 


9,695,670 


11,428,631 


12,988,426 


13,960,600 


1,896,534 


49,969,861 




Edinburgh Pentlands 


444,083 


782,785 


3,891,155 


1,173,841 


620,111 


6,911,975 




Edinburgh South 


304,510 


545,260 


348,509 


2,368,906 


622,257 


4,189,442 




Edinburgh West 


988,300 


909,303 


839,310 


697,209 


944,709 


4,378,831 




Falkirk East 


684,500 


251,852 


25,034 


197,864 


1,498,971 


2,658,221 




Falkirk West 


539,292 


839,908 


38,729 


462,010 


836,148 


2,716,087 




Galloway & Upper Nithsdale 


1,652,778 


896,620 


580,666 


706,419 


1,018,449 


4,854,932 




Glasgow Anniesland 


40,974 


1,548,103 


469,599 


236,426 


1,401,747 


3,696,849 




Glasgow Baillieston 


44,781 


535,923 


856,209 


173,211 


238,558 


1,848,682 




Glasgow Cathcart 


23,109,130 


4,135,568 


405,875 


955,998 


888,571 


29,495,142 




Glasgow Govan 


910,630 


1,172,341 


1,337,310 


3,788,508 


535,081 


7,743,870 




Glasgow Kelvin 


8,381,919 


18,676,644 


65,222,445 


14,121,772 


8,539,153 


114,941,933 




Glasgow Maryhill 


219,964 


1,874,635 


34,632,644 


2,002,925 


619,418 


39,349,586 




Glasgow Pollok 


35,000 


148,342 


62,259 


2,010,879 


133,095 


2,389,575 




Glasgow Rutherglen 


874,437 


669,635 


59,529 


175,739 


305,035 


2,084,375 




Glasgow Shettleston 


507,533 


7,991,075 


2,044,443 


4,015,734 


1,246,628 


15,805,413 




Glasgow Springburn 


5,000 


391,123 


774,720 


1,022,807 


392,092 


2,585,742 




Gordon 


1,689,274 


763,099 


778,315 


738,984 


358,996 


4,328,668 




Greenock & Inverclyde 


942,221 


349,420 


327,642 


67,513 


1,709,709 


3,396,505 




Hamilton North & Bellshill 


341,482 


397,275 


3,564,008 


1,179,222 


1,383,809 


6,865,796 




Hamilton South 


114,819 


37,773 


88,631 


673,102 


464,060 


1,378,385 




Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber 


763,711 


44,054,297 


1,633,319 


1,431,551 


2,663,933 


50,546,811 




Kilmarnock & Loudoun 


43,800 


489,732 


143,388 


316,587 


2,440,814 


3,434,321 




Kirkcaldy 


495,840 


194,884 


103,847 


1,029,348 


1,338,164 


3,162,083 




Linlithgow 


188,281 


230,306 


410,022 


929,414 


1,294,317 


3,052,340 




Livingston 


400,989 


370,023 


346,007 


1,472,924 


919,825 


3,509,768 




Midlothian 


325,250 


305,858 


4,971,058 


1,184,450 


1,452,810 


8,239,426 




Moray 


325,327 


823,071 


763,860 


496,891 


2,068,624 


4,477,773 




Motherwell & Wishaw 


368,260 


240,462 


206,353 


492,456 


3,212,503 


4,520,034 




North East Fife 


1,281,865 


4,877,750 


492,318 


1,305,098 


645,851 


8,602,882 




North Tayside 


498,802 


78,995 


1,572,582 


10,434,517 


1,483,777 


14,068,673 




Ochil 


539,019 


665,921 


628,496 


750,219 


3,723,950 


6,307,605 




Orkney & Shetland 


3,878,119 


1,505,859 


1,167,782 


1,706,119 


1,217,334 


9,475,213 




Paisley North 


100,950 


234,338 


59,305 


381,015 


1,953,302 


2,728,910 




Paisley South 


91,900 


1,332,868 


489,405 


438,803 


906,878 


3,259,854 




Perth 


1,491,456 


1,487,826 


358,557 


927,761 


1,658,893 


5,924,493 




Ross, Skye & Inverness West 


1,789,098 


3,499,565 


2,212,757 


1,805,746 


1,290,342 


10,597,508 




Roxburgh & Berwickshire 


644,380 


607,497 


305,869 


166,960 


1,514,240 


3,238,946 




Stirling 


747,700 


4,516,452 


852,838 


4,775,610 


1,838,786 


12,731,386 




Strathkelvin & Bearsden 


242,257 


670,652 


200,176 


535,107 


950,148 


2,598,340 




Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale 


48,150 


588,149 


552,314 


340,195 


2,707,670 


4,236,478 




W Aberdeenshire & Kincardine 


10,470,593 


799,085 


865,305 


507,446 


528987 


13,171,416 




West Renfrewshire 


113,193 


793,618 


76,461 


802,429 


2,706,222 


4,491,923 




Western Isles 


222,990 


1,607,872 


1,320,009 


1,367,440 


2,374,515 


6,892,826 




Constituency not known 


0 


125,738 


46,954 


242,450 


5,000 


420,142 




Grand Total 


105,774,275 


195,575,043 


180,517,754 


120,432,800 


109,538,367 


711,838,239

National Lottery Awards

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations it has had with the Department of Media, Culture and Sport regarding the New Opportunities Fund in Scotland.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive maintains regular contact with the Department for Media, Culture and Sport on all policy issues concerning the New Opportunities Fund and other National Lottery distributors.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the mileage rates payable to staff and users in each non-departmental public body where these are available on an annual basis since 1997, and for which non-departmental public bodies these details are not available.

Mr Jack McConnell: This information is not held centrally.

Occupational Therapy

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7824 by Susan Deacon on 24 July 2000, whether it plans to collate centrally information regarding occupational therapy waiting times in individual Trust and health board areas.

Susan Deacon: We have no plans to collate centrally information on waiting times for occupational therapy.

  Occupational therapy and other Professions Allied to Medicine services are provided in a variety of settings, often at an outpatient clinic or in the community, and in many cases outwith the Health Service, for example in schools and local authorities.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it anticipates being in a position to issue substantive answers to parliamentary questions S1W-657 and S1W-658, lodged on 22 July, how many substantive answers to parliamentary questions by all MSPs remain outstanding from those lodged before the end of July, August and September and whether parliamentary questions S1W-657 and S1W-658 are the longest standing parliamentary questions still to be given substantive answers.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-4675.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any outstanding parliamentary questions lodged by Ian Welsh and whether these will still be answered and published.

Mr Tom McCabe: Any outstanding parliamentary questions lodged by Ian Welsh were treated as withdrawn following his resignation.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to answer parliamentary question S1W-2735, lodged on 23 November 1999, and in view of this delay, whether, when it provides this answer, it will provide information relating to the number of substantive answers to parliamentary questions lodged before the end of December 1999 which are still outstanding, rather than questions lodged before the end of September 1999 as originally requested.

Mr Tom McCabe: Questions S1W-657 and S1W-658 were answered by Sarah Boyack on 25 November 1999. We are currently investigating within our offices the number of parliamentary questions lodged before the end of December 1999 which have not yet received substantive answers, and will write to you with the details as soon as this has been conducted, placing copies of the response in the Scottish Parliament Reference Centre.

Parliamentary Questions

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8365 by Henry McLeish on 13 July 2000, what criteria are used to determine whether an answer can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Mr Tom McCabe: A major study to establish the average cost of dealing with Scottish Parliamentary Questions is nearing completion. As part of this study consideration will being given to setting a threshold beyond which the Executive may decline to answer a question on the grounds that to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

  In the meantime, the Executive is using as a guide the advisory cost limit of £550 that is used by the Westminster Parliament as a threshold for disproportionate cost written questions. The limit was announced in Mr Timms’s reply of 15 May to question number 122509 and is based on eight times the average marginal cost of dealing with written Westminster PQs.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which Ministers have been allocated questions S1W-2735, lodged on 23 November 1999, S1W-3953, lodged on 25 January 2000 and S1W-4675, lodged on 24 February 2000, and why no responses have yet been given to these questions.

Mr Tom McCabe: I have today answered questions S1W-2735, S1W-3953 and S1W-4675.

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what notification procedures were followed by City of Glasgow Council in relation to proposals for a retail and leisure development at Auchinlea Park, Easterhouse and what response it made to any such notification.

Sarah Boyack: This planning application is under consideration by Glasgow City Council and has not been notified to the Scottish Ministers.

Prison Service

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what means prison officers have of protecting themselves against assault and what means of restraint are available to them.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  All prison officers are issued with staves which they are trained to use to defend themselves if they were physically attacked.

  All prison officers are also trained in approved control and restraint techniques designed to restrain a violent prisoner in a way which minimises the risk of injury to prison officers and prisoners.

  Prison rules also provide for the Governor to order that a prisoner be placed under a restraint by means of a body belt if the prisoner threatens to injure, or is in the course of injuring, himself or others. Use of such a restraint is rare.

Prison Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average daily population of prisoners (a) was in each of the last three financial years and (b) is projected to be in each of the next three financial years in (i) penal establishments directly operated by the Scottish Prison Service, (ii) legalised police cells and (iii) privately operated penal establishments.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information on the numbers of prisoners in Scottish penal establishments is given in the table below. The prisoner population projections do not distinguish privately operated penal establishments from those directly operated by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).

  The average daily population of prisoners in legalised police cells is 1; numbers are not projected.

  Average daily population in penal establishments in Scotland, excluding legalised police cells, 1997-98 to 2002-03:

  


Year 


Numbers 


Projections 




1997-98 


1998-99 


1999-2000
(prov.) 


2000-01 


2001-02 


2002-03 





Kilmarnock1


0 


1 


443 


n.a. 


n.a. 


n.a. 




SPS operated
establishments 


6,058 


6,026 


5,530 


n.a. 


n.a. 


n.a. 




All penal
establishments 


6,058 


6,027 


5,973 


6,100 


6,200 


6,400 




  Note:

  1. Kilmarnock opened on 25 March 1999.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in assessing tenders for contracts for the management and maintenance of the trunk road network, it will take into account all the costs which may be incurred by the public sector in the event that the contracts for trunk road maintenance are awarded to contractors other than local authority consortia, including all costs for local authorities, in particular, the potential costs of redundancy payments and diseconomies of scale in disaggregating the current integration of trunk and non-trunk road maintenance by local authorities.

Sarah Boyack: No. Under the terms of the competition, award of the contracts will be based on the Scottish Executive’s assessment of the prices and rates offered by the tenderers. Under EU procurement regulations and competition law, the Scottish Executive treats all bids on an equal basis.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has received about the applicability of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (as amended) to the current voluntary tendering exercise for the management and maintenance of the trunk road network and whether, in conducting this tendering exercise, it has done everything within its power to safeguard the employment rights of local authorities’ existing workforces.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has taken advice from the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, and is continuing to consult with these bodies.

  The requirements we are introducing into the competition to safeguard the employment rights of existing work forces is explained in my answer to question S1W-8984 and meets fully the requirements of employment rights legislation. This applies equally to existing local authority and private sector workers.

Scottish Arts Council

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total expenditure was by the Scottish Arts Council on grants to projects by local authority area in the latest year for which figures are available.

Rhona Brankin: The figures are available in SAC’s annual report, a copy of which is available from SPICe.

Sport

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any resources available to help upgrade existing ice rinks.

Rhona Brankin: Resources are available from the Lottery Fund administered by  sportscotland to help upgrade existing ice rinks. There is much competition for funding and awards are made to those projects and communities which are considered to be most in need.

Sport

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is committed to developing youth interest in curling; if so, what strategy it has to achieve this and whether there are any plans for curling development officers.

Rhona Brankin: We are committed to supporting the development of curling at all levels including youth.  sportscotland works closely with the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and provides funding to the sport through various programmes. In partnership with a number of local ice-rinks, the RCCC and  sportscotland are already providing funding for the appointment of three full- and two part-time development officers.

Student Finance

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to make information available to colleges and college students about the proposed changes in student maintenance arrangements.

Henry McLeish: On 24 May the Scottish Executive published its consultation document Scotland The Learning Nation - Helping Students which contained proposals for changes to the student support arrangements in further and higher education. The consultation process runs until 31 August. Copies were sent to all colleges in Scotland, the Association of Scottish Colleges, the student associations and NUS Scotland. The document was also placed on the Executive’s website.

  In addition, the Executive printed 150,000 copies of a leaflet summarising the proposals and providing the website address. Quantities of these were made available to further education colleges for distribution to students and potential students.

Textile Industry

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full time equivalent jobs there were in each year from 1994-95 to 1999-2000 in each of the textile, footwear, leather and clothing manufacturing sectors.

Henry McLeish: The number of employee jobs in Scotland in the textile, footwear, leather and clothing manufacturing sectors is shown in the following table. The leather and footwear sectors have been combined due to confidentiality.

  

 

1995 


1996 


1997 


1998 




Textiles 


21,300 


22,200 


19,200 


17,700 




Clothing 


14,000 


15,100 


13,500 


13,700 




Leather and Footwear 


1,400 


1,400 


1,200 


1,100 




  Source: Annual Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1943 by Sarah Boyack on 22 November 1999, what effect its Green Transport Plan has had on the transport modal split for its employees at Victoria Quay and what further initiatives it plans to take to reduce car use.

Sarah Boyack: The Executive intends to assess the effectiveness of its Green Travel Plan following the completion of the Ocean Terminal development and the associated public transport improvements.

  A range of initiatives are underway or planned to encourage more sustainable travel practices by Scottish Executive staff, including:

  - an intranet-based Green Travel website, which has areas for car-sharers and bicycle users, public transport timetable information and links, and other information of practical use for members of staff;

  - interest-free loans for purchasing annual travel tickets and bicycles and cycling equipment;

  - enhanced bus services direct to Victoria Quay, including Lothian Buses’ no 22 service, and the recently introduced Stagecoach service from Kirkcaldy, the X50;

  - discounted annual travel tickets for Lothian Buses services; and

  - the provision of pre-paid books of bus tickets for business travel.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1943 by Sarah Boyack on 22 November 1999, what percentage of its staff at Victoria Quay share cars and what steps it is taking to encourage further car sharing.

Sarah Boyack: A study carried out in 1997 found that 10% of staff based at Victoria Quay share cars for their journeys to and from work.

  The Scottish Executive is committed to encouraging its staff to consider using more sustainable transport modes in getting to and from work, and published a Green Travel Plan for Victoria Quay in June 1999. Specific initiatives include an intranet-based car-sharing scheme, and periodic staff awareness campaigns. Further measures are currently being considered.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff at each location within the City of Edinburgh and at each salary grade receive payments or any form of financial assistance towards owning, leasing and using cars in relation to their duties.

Mr Jack McConnell: The information requested is provided below:

  

 

Salary Band 


Location 




Owning a car 


1 x B1 


Pentland House 




Leasing a car 


2 x Senior Civil Service 


St Andrew’s House 




  In only the most exceptional circumstances is financial assistance given towards owning or leasing a car.

  Where it is necessary for SE staff to travel on official business, the use of public transport is encouraged. Where travel by car is necessary, staff are entitled to claim the standard mileage rate of 39 ppm, or should use a hire car where this is more cost effective.

  In the case of staff using their own car for official business no records are kept centrally by salary grade or location in which they work.

Trust Ports

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide full details of the procedures used by Cromarty Firth Port Authority in awarding contracts for harbour services.

Sarah Boyack: Cromarty Firth Port Authority is an independent statutory trust port. The procedures used by the authority in its commercial activities are a matter for the port to determine. Guidance on national standards which the Executive expects trust ports to follow on the conduct of their business generally is included in Modernising Trust Ports: A Guide to Good Governance published in January 2000.

Trust Ports

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will initiate an inquiry and if necessary make representations to Her Majesty’s Government into allegations of irregularity in the awarding of contracts for harbour services by the Cromarty Firth Port Authority.

Sarah Boyack: Cromarty Firth Port Authority is an independent statutory trust port. The Executive has no plans to initiate any inquiry concerning Cromarty Firth Port Authority, or to make representations concerning the authority to Her Majesty’s Government.

Voluntary Sector

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive,  how much Section 10 (1) core funding voluntary sector umbrella organisations and co-ordinating bodies such as the Scottish Council on Deafness, Disability Scotland and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations received in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and how much it is planned that they will receive in each year from 2000-01 to 2002-03.

Jackie Baillie: The Executive gives £6 million annually to generic voluntary sector organisations and initiatives.

  An analysis of funding to voluntary sector umbrella and intermediary organisations across departments has not previously been carried out. However, the Executive is conducting a strategic review of its funding to the sector. As a first stage in this review, a database of grants to voluntary organisations has been compiled and a copy has been placed with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. An analysis of support to umbrella and intermediary bodies will form part of the review. I will write to the member with the information he requests once the analysis has been carried out.

  The Scottish Compact between the Executive and the voluntary sector acknowledges the importance of support for umbrella bodies and the infrastructure of the sector. The Compact Good Practice Guide on funding, published on 13 June, states that departments should, in terms of meeting policy objectives, consider the merits of core funding intermediary or umbrella or resource bodies.